Minister’s Week in Review

This week’s (Feb. 26 – Mar. 1, 2024) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

INTRO?

This week was significant for our 3MTT programme as we announced the kick-off of the pilot phase of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which represents an expansion of the implementation target from 1% to 10%, representing a total of 300,000 fellows.?

During the week, I also held further engagements with partners and stakeholders on facilitating broadband connectivity and building support for our talent, empowerment and job creation initiatives.?

FOCUS AREAS THIS WEEK

Talent Accelerator: The 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme is a significant part of our goal of positioning Nigeria as a net-exporter of technology talent, and it was a major area of focus for us this week as we announced the launch of the pilot phase of the programme. The selection of 270,000 new Fellows brings the total number to 300,000, representing 10% of the Ministry’s 3 million overall target by 2025. Our current timeline is to conclude this 2nd phase in about 18 months and we are constantly reviewing our plans to ensure efficient delivery of the programme.

Broadband for Development: With the provision of broadband connectivity right at the core of the Infrastructure pillar objectives of our Strategic Blueprint, we are constantly engaging with different partners, internally and externally, to ensure that we can identify and implement the most efficient and cost effective approach to connecting our people. With the launch of Project 774, which connects all our Local Government secretariats, we are expanding this rollout to more locations including hospitals and hostels in higher institutions across Nigeria. The intention is to not only expand connectivity, but also to address issues on non-consumption.

TIMELINE

Monday:

I delivered an inauguration lecture to participants of the Senior Executive Course 46 at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos titled ‘Digital Economy, Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Job Creation in Nigeria – Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities’.

Following the lecture, I proceeded to the Presidential Villa to attend the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.?

Tuesday:?

I started the day with a meeting with representatives of Mastercard led by Mark Elliot, President Sub-Saharan Africa to discuss provision of payment solutions and capacity building in the education space. I also invited Mastercard to be part of our AI strategy workshop scheduled for later this year.?

My next engagement was a virtual session with the Amazon Kuiber team to discuss issues around broadband connectivity across key locations including hospitals and government offices. The Amazon team was led by Don Brown, Head of Global Government.

Later in the day, I met with the Director General of the National Productivity Centre, Dr. Nasir Raji-Mustapha and the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Aliyu Audu where we discussed the critical importance of productivity to national growth and possible areas of collaboration.

Wednesday:

My first meeting of the day was with representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to identify areas of support for the Ministry. The? AfDB was represented by Uyoyo Edosio, Principal ICT & Innovation Expert; Elisha Sulai, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director Nigeria and Sao Tome; and Jacob Odur, Lead Country Economist Nigeria.

I then had a follow up meeting with the Founder & CEO of Intelligra, Tayo Ogundipe regarding the provision of device financing solutions for underserved communities in Nigeria.?

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) team, led by PostMaster General & CEO, Tola Odeyemi held a briefing session with me on the pilot test for the Postcode Area (PCA) Validation. They also updated me on the National Addressing System (NAS) project to streamline postal services thereby facilitating access to residences, businesses, and public entities across Nigeria.

I was pleased to announce the next instalment of the #DevsInGovernment session scheduled for March 14, 2024. Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination; Dr. Vincent Olatunji, CEO, Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC); and Adeniran Adeyemi, Statistician General of the Federation are expected to be on the panel to discuss ‘The Role of Data in Governance’

I then met with my team at the end of a busy day to review our progress over the past six months with a view to streamlining and refocusing our efforts towards achieving set goals as outlined in our Strategic Blueprint.

Thursday:?

In a very significant milestone, we announced the pilot phase of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme with 270,000 new Fellows selected for training. 3MTT is the largest talent accelerator in the world, and is now in its second phase after a successful prototype phase with 30,000 Fellows in the first cohort. I believe firmly that this programme will be critical in Nigeria journey to become a net exporter of technical talent.?

Friday:?

Following the announcement of the second phase of the 3MTT programme, I had an extensive engagement with my Innovation/Entrepreneurship/Capital team to assess progress, appreciate their efforts, and align on plans to deliver excellent execution in the engagement of Fellows and setup of training clusters for the next phase of the 3MTT initiative. The team is preparing for a busy few weeks ahead as we onboard our new cohort of fellows.

BLUEPRINT REVIEW

This week, my activities focused on the Knowledge, Infrastructure, and Innovation/Entrepreneurship/Capital pillar objectives of our Strategic Blueprint, as I launched the second phase of the 3MTT programme with 270,000 new Fellows. I also engaged with selected partners to facilitate broadband connectivity, particularly in underserved areas.?

Finally, in recognition of the need for regular tracking and evaluation of programmes, I took time to review our team performance and milestones from our Strategic Blueprint to ensure that there is clear progress and action plans towards achieving our Ministry’s targets.

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